Chef Greg Baxtrom is running a limited-time menu at Olmsted featuring items made with Solein. | Photo courtesy of Olmsted
A protein produced with air and electricity is making its U.S. debut at Olmsted Restaurant in Brooklyn, New York.
Chef-owner Greg Baxtrom is incorporating protein-rich Solein, a powdery ingredient developed by Finnish company Solar Foods, into a four-course menu offered at Olmsted through the end of November. He swaps in the ingredient for milk, butter and egg yolks in dishes, making foods more sustainable and nutritious without diners even noticing the difference, said the award-winning chef.
Solein Delicata Squash Rings are sprinkled with “fallikake.” | Photo courtesy of Solar Foods.
The limited-time menu is in sync with Olmsted’s culinary direction, which focuses on vegetable-forward, earth-friendly cooking. The menu leads off with a remake of a restaurant signature: Delicata Squash Rings with green tomato ketchup and ‘fallikake’—a crunchy topping of seasoned toasted pepitas and puffed wild rice—Baxtrom’s house-made take on furikake. The squash features Solein, as do Brussels Sprout Solein Spaetzle with Piave Vecchio and Alfredo Sauce; Solein Carrot Crepe with carrot butter, sunflower and preserved lemon; and Old School Solein Chocolate Mousse with poached Italian plums and orange marmalade.
“Sustainability has always been a core value for us at Olmsted,” said Baxtrom. “Whether it’s creating a robust composting program or working with purveyors to showcase underutilized cuts of meat, employing sustainable practices is an important part of the work we do at the restaurant. When Solar Foods approached us to partner with them to be the first to launch Solein, we were excited. Our mission is very much aligned as we both look to the future of food.”
Solar Foods first unveiled Solein in Singapore last year at a private dinner cooked by Michelin-starred restaurant chef Mirki Febbrile, and soon after, the company opened Factory 01 in Vantaa, Finland, to scale up production.
The product does not rely on agriculture to grow; instead it’s produced with renewable energy, airborne materials and a small amount of minerals. It’s grown on a hydrogen fermentation platform through a bioprocess that uses electricity and carbon dioxide.
Protein-rich Solein has a flour-like texture. | Photo courtesy of Solar Foods.
The result is a nutritious, flour-like ingredient that contains 75% protein and a healthy dose of fiber, minerals and vitamins. The plant-based powder can be blended into both sweet and savory preparations to replace existing proteins in pasta, breads, spreads and snacks and impart a mild, umami flavor.
While lab-grown meat has met with some consumer resistance due to its “Frankenfood” image, Solar Foods’ gas fermentation process is different from that in which a cell is extracted from an animal and grown in a lab. This process is based on an unmodified, single-cell microbial organism in the air that eats CO2. Overall, it’s about following nature’s playbook, but Solar Foods is just able to do it a little bit more efficiently, said a spokesperson for the company.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.
